Sustainable development is about:
1 balanced and equitable economic development
2 high levels of employment, social cohesion and inclusiveness
3 a high level of environmental protection and responsible use of natural resources 4 coherent policy making in an open, transparent and accountable political system 5 effective international cooperation to promote sustainable development globally.
The concept of sustainable development was first given real political momentum in the United Nations Brundtland Commission report of 1987. The 1992 UN Conference
Table 4.4 (Continued)
Directive Title Main points Comments
Commission Second annual study on ● Commission presents the follow-up measures working the implementation and carried out after the 1996 communication on the document of monitoring of the implementation of Community environment law 13 July 2000 application of Community ● Other specific environmental actions
January 1998 to environment law ● Application of Community environmental
December 1999 directives depends on correct transposition by
the Member States within the set time limits SEC(2002) 1041 Third Annual Survey on ● Report gives five reasons for this increase
Not published the implementation and ● Directives about environmental impact assessment, in the Official enforcement of Community air, water, nature, noise, chemicals and
Journal environmental law biotechnology, waste, environment and industry,
January 2000 to radiation protection
December 2001 ● Networks for the application of environmental law
● Report looks at how the network is working now, and lists the IMPEL reports and projects adopted in 2000 and 2001
SEC(2003) 804 Commission staff working ● Freedom of access to information, environmental Not published paper of 7 June 2003. impact assessment, air, water, nature, noise, in the Official Fourth annual survey on chemicals and biotechnology, waste, environment Journal the implementation and and industry, radiation protection
enforcement of Community ● Implementation and Enforcement of environmental law – 2002 Environmental Law (IMPEL) is an informal
network between the environmental authorities in the Member States and the Commission SEC(2004) 1025 Commission staff working ● Over one third of infringement cases examined Not published paper of 27 July 2004: by the European Commission in 2003
in the Official ‘Fifth annual survey on ● 505 new complaints of breaches of environmental Journal the implementation and legislation, slightly fewer than in 2002
enforcement of Community ● Areas already opened are air, waste, nature environmental law 2003’ and water
● Freedom of access to information, environmental impact assessment, air, water, nature, noise, chemicals and biotechnology, waste, environment and industry, radiation protection
Adapted from Arvanitoyannis et al., 2006a
on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro was a ground-breaking meeting, adopting the Rio Declaration on environment and development, as well as the Agenda 21 Action Program. Sustainable development is closely linked to Governance, Better Regulation and Impact Assessment. Indicators to measure progress are also vital. In June 2001, the European Council at Göteborg discussed a strategy for sustainable development proposed by the European Commission. This strategy proposed meas- ures to deal with important threats to our well-being, such as climate change, poverty and emerging health risks, which had been identified in a consultation paper in March 2001. The EU is also committed to promoting sustainable development at the global level. A second paper covering our external policies was adopted by the Commission in February 2002, adding a global dimension to the EU strategy. This was an important Community input to the World Summit on sustainable development in Johannesburg in the autumn of 2002. The UN Commission on sustainable development reviewed progress and promotes implementation of the Johannesburg commitments (http://
europa.eu.int/comm/sunstainable/index_en.htm).
Sustainable development – general framework
Communication from the Commission of 15 May 2001, ‘A Sustainable Europe for a Better World: A European Union Strategy for Sustainable Development’ (COM(2001) 264 – not published in the Official Journal), stated that the main threats to sustainable development are:
1 emissions of greenhouse gases from human activity 2 new antibiotic-resistant strains of some diseases 3 poverty and social exclusion
4 low birth rates 5 loss of biodiversity 6 transport congestion.
Tackling these unsustainable trends and achieving the vision offered by sustainable development requires: urgent action, committed and far-sighted political leadership, a new approach to policy making, widespread participation and international responsi- bility. The communication indicates that a review needs to be carried out at each spring European Council to check on progress with the implementation of the strategy.
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions ‘Towards a global partnership for sustainable development’ (COM(2002) 82 final – not published in the Official Journal) presents a series of actions to contribute to global sustainable development. They complement the May 2001 strategy for sustainable development and cover economic, social, environmental and financial aspects, as well as coherence of Community policies and governance at all levels. The specific economic activities set out by the Commission are as follows:
1 within the framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO), to improve the inte- gration of developing countries into the world economy
2 to help developing countries benefit from the global trading system
3 to change the generalized system of preferences (GSP) to take account of sustain- able development
4 to include sustainable development in the bilateral and regional agreements 5 to reduce the non-transparent use of the international financial system and to regu-
late it more efficiently
6 to encourage European businesses to be socially responsible
7 to promote cooperation between the WTO and international environmental organizations.
The objective of sustainable management of natural and environmental resources is to reverse the trend of the loss of environmental resources by 2015, as well as to develop intermediate objectives in the sectors of water, land and soil, energy and biodiversity.
According to the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament of 23 December 2003 ‘The World Summit on Sustainable Development one year on: implementing our commitments’ (COM(2003) 829 final – not published in the Official Journal), the main targets adopted by the international community at the Johannesburg Summit in September 2002 were:
1 to reduce the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation
2 to increase access to energy services, energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy
3 to reverse the current trend in natural resource degradation 4 to reduce biodiversity loss
5 to minimize the harmful effects of chemicals
6 to promote sustainable patterns of production and consumption
7 to promote the implementation of national sustainable development strategies.
The summary of EU Communications related to sustainable development – general framework is given in Table 4.5.
Sustainable development – sustainable development instruments
In the Commission report of 13 March 2002, known as ‘environmental technology for sustainable development’ (COM(2002) 122 final – not published in the Official Journal), the term ‘environmental technology’ refers to technologies that prevent pol- lutants being generated during the production process and discharged at the end, new materials, environmental know-how and new ways of working. In fact, environmental technology refers to all activities which produce goods and services to measure, pre- vent, limit or correct environmental damage, as well as problems related to waste, noise and ecosystems. It includes three types of activity: pollution management, integrated technologies and products which generate little pollution and resource management.
The report reveals the importance of environmental technology on the European and world markets. The EU is particularly competitive in the following sectors: the
development of water distribution and wastewater treatment infrastructure, waste management, technologies for combating air pollution and renewable energy sources.
The report mentions several obstacles to the development of environmental technol- ogy: lack of financial resources, risk aversion and uncertainty, lack of information on efficiency, shortage of required skills, economic risks, innovation costs, the segmen- tation of the market and lack of competition.
The Report from the Commission to the Council of 20 September 2002, Analysis of the ‘open list’ of environment-related headline indicators (COM(2002) 524 final – not published in the Official Journal) was an analysis of the feasibility and availability of data for the proposed indicators. It was a basis for choosing the seven environmental indicators for eventual inclusion in the 2003 Spring report. The indicators were divided into four groups:
1 those feasible in 2002 as the data required are available and reliable
2 those feasible only in part in 2002 as the data, although available, are incomplete or not sufficiently up to date
3 those unlikely feasible in the near future because, although the data are identifiable, the available sources are inadequate or the data is not always produced on an annual basis
4 those for which the available data are not sufficiently clear and for which method- ological or other development work will be required.
Table 4.5 EU Communications (main points and comments) related to sustainable development – general framework
Directive Title Main points
COM(2001) 264 Communication from the Commission of ● Policy framework to deliver sustainable Not published in the 15 May 2001 ‘A Sustainable Europe for a development
Official Journal Better World: A European Union Strategy ● Policies need to be made more consistent and for Sustainable Development’ (Commission’s that all of them should give priority to sustainable proposal to the Gothenburg European Council) development
● Strategy identifies six unsustainable trends COM(2002) 82 final Communication from the Commission to ● Series of actions to contribute to global Not published in the European Parliament, the Council, the sustainable development
Official Journal Economic and Social Committee and the ● Strategy for sustainable development and covers Committee of the Regions ‘Towards a global economic, social, environmental and financial partnership for sustainable development’ aspects, as well as coherence of Community
policies and governance at all levels COM(2003) 829 final Communication from the Commission to the ● A set of priorities for EU action
Not published in the Council and the European Parliament of ● EU’s ‘Water for Life’ and ‘Energy for Poverty Official Journal 23 December 2003 ‘The World Summit on Eradication and Sustainable Development’
Sustainable Development one year on: initiatives, the sustainable management of natural implementing our commitments’ resources, the promotion of sustainable patterns
of consumption and production methods, and international environmental governance Adapted from Arvanitoyannis et al., 2006b
In order to be able to work out an optimum waste management strategy covering the overall framework and practical implementing measures, the Commission launched the Commission Communication of 27 May 2003 entitled ‘Towards a thematic strategy on the prevention and recycling of waste’ (COM(2003) 301– Official Journal C 76 of 25 March 2004), which is a process of very broad consultation among all stakeholders on the essential measures and instruments needed to promote waste prevention and recycling. The objective was not to recommend the use of any particular instrument, but to launch a debate on the potential role and efficiency of the different options within the context of an overall thematic strategy. With regard to waste prevention, the Commission has asked and has received contributions on the following:
1 exchange of information and experience and dissemination of best practices in national incentive schemes
2 ways and means for economic operators to compile and implement waste preven- tion plans
3 the waste prevention potential of the Directive on integrated pollution prevention and control.
Furthermore, in the Commission Communication of 1 October 2003 ‘Towards a the- matic strategy on the sustainable use of natural resources’ (COM(2003) 572 – not pub- lished in the Official Journal), the Commission sets up the main features of a future thematic strategy with the aim of establishing a framework and adopting measures that will make the sustainable use of natural resources possible without continuing to degrade the environment. In order to ensure that such a strategy is efficient, it should be based on particular elements: the resources themselves, the impact of human activ- ities and actions already initiated. The future thematic strategy should therefore adopt an overall approach, focusing on disseminating information and organizing an action framework with the following main elements:
1 gathering knowledge on the links between obtaining and using resources on the one hand and their impact in every phase of their life cycle on the other
2 assessing policies impacting on the environment to determine how far policy choices in these different areas are compatible with the aim of decoupling eco- nomic growth from environmental degradation, and
3 policy integration of the issues relating to natural resources.
Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament of 28 January 2004 entitled ‘Stimulating technologies for sustainable development: an environmental technologies action plan for the European Union’ (COM(2004)38 final – not published in the Official Journal) sets an action plan that concerns technologies to manage pollution, less polluting and less resource-intensive products and services and ways to manage resources more efficiently. They reduce costs and improve competi- tiveness by reducing energy and resource consumption and so creating fewer emis- sions and less waste. The Commission identifies a number of factors which, in its
opinion, are of importance when promoting environmental technologies and which underpin this action plan:
1 environmental technologies are very diverse and can be applied in all economic sectors
2 many environmental technologies are under-used
3 targeted and effective incentives can contribute to the successful introduction of environmental technologies
4 reducing uncertainty about future market developments would boost investment in environmental technologies
5 the experience and commitment of the various stakeholders is vital in promoting environmental technologies
6 the optimum use of policy and economic instruments (such as legislation, volun- tary measures etc.) can accelerate the uptake of environmental technologies 7 some of the measures which are needed to promote environmental technologies
may not affect investment decisions immediately.
Some major points of the EU legislation focused on sustainable development – sus- tainable development instruments are presented in Table 4.6.
Sustainable development – integration of environmental policy
The activities to be carried out under Regulation (EC) No 2493/2000 (entry into force 18/11/2000) were as follows:
1 global environmental issues, in particular those covered by multilateral environ- mental agreements, such as climate change, desertification and biological diversity 2 transboundary environmental issues, in particular air, soil and water pollution 3 environmental impacts related to the integration of developing countries into the
world economy
4 the inclusion in development cooperation projects of environmental considera- tions enabling the sustainable dimension of these projects to be distinguished, identified and assessed
5 environmental impacts of macroeconomic and sectoral policies in developing countries
6 sustainable patterns of production and consumption
7 sustainable management and use of natural and environmental resources in all productive sectors such as agriculture, fisheries and industry
8 environmental problems caused by the non-sustainable use of resources due to poverty
9 sustainable production and use of energy and, in particular, encouragement of the use of renewable energy sources, increased energy efficiency, energy saving and the replacement of especially damaging energy sources by others which are less so 10 sustainable production and use of chemical products, in particular hazardous and
toxic substances
11 conservation of biological diversity – especially by protecting ecosystems and habitats and the conservation of species diversity – the sustainable use of its com- ponents, the involvement of holders of traditional knowledge on the use of biolog- ical diversity, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources
12 the management of freshwater resources 13 coastal zone, estuary and wetland management 14 desertification
15 urban environment problems relating, inter alia, to transport, waste, wastewater, air pollution and noise, and the quality of drinking water
16 environmental problems related to industrial activities.
Table 4.6 EU Communications (main points and comments) with regard to sustainable development – sustainable development instruments
Directive Title Main points
COM(2002) 122 final Commission report of 13 March 2002, ● Three types of activity pollution management, Not published in the environmental technology for sustainable integrated technologies and products which generate
Official Journal development little pollution and resource management
● Environmental technology on the European and world markets
● Development of environmental technology are mentioned
COM(2002) 524 final Report from the Commission to the ● Feasibility analysis and availability of data for the Not published in the Council of 20 September 2002, Analysis proposed indicators
Official Journal of the ‘open list’ of environment-related ● Basis for choosing the seven environmental indicators headline indicators for eventual inclusion in the 2003 spring report
● Concludes by stating that a detailed work program for the production of the indicators will be developed in the next stage
COM(2003) 301 Commission Communication of 27 May ● Not to recommend the use of any particular instrument Official Journal C 76 2003 entitled ‘Towards a thematic but to launch a debate on the potential role and of 25 March 2004 strategy on the prevention and recycling efficiency of the different options within the context
of waste’ of an overall thematic strategy
COM(2003) 572 Commission Communication of ● Main features of a future thematic strategy with the aim Not published in the 1 October 2003: ‘Towards a thematic of establishing a framework and adopting measures Official Journal strategy on the sustainable use of that will make the sustainable use of natural resources
natural resources’ possible without continuing to degrade the environment
● Based on particular elements: the resources themselves, the impact of human activities and actions already initiated
COM(2004) 38 final Communication from the Commission to ● Action plan concerns technologies to manage Not published in the the Council and the European Parliament pollution, less polluting and less resource-intensive Official Journal of 28 January 2004 entitled ‘Stimulating products and services and ways to manage resources
technologies for sustainable development: more efficiently
an environmental technologies action ● Number of factors are of importance when promoting plan for the European Union’ environmental technologies
● Three main areas according to their effect Adapted from Arvanitoyannis et al., 2006b
Communication from the Commission to the European Council of 27 May 1998 on a partnership for integration, entitled ‘a strategy for integrating the environment into EU policies (Cardiff – June 1998)’ (COM(1998) 333 – not published in the Official Journal), stated that the Commission has set out guidelines which will enable the envi- ronmental dimension to be properly integrated into other policies:
1 integrating the environment into all activities by Community institutions 2 a review of existing policies
3 introduction of strategies for action in key areas
4 drafting of a Council report for the Vienna European Council on how the environ- mental dimension has been successfully integrated into other policies of the Member States
5 definition of priority actions and mechanisms for monitoring implementation 6 review by the European Council of environmental integration into sectoral policies 7 a joint study by the Council, Parliament and the Commission on the development of mechanisms for implementing these guidelines and for monitoring their imple- mentation.
Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions of 27 January 1999, ‘Directions towards sustainable agriculture’ (COM(1999) 22 final – Official Journal C 173 of 19/6/1999): technological developments and commercial criteria intended to increase yields and reduce costs have greatly increased the intensification of agriculture over the last forty years. The common agricultural policy (CAP) is largely responsible for this intensification. The high level of support for agricultural prices has encouraged intensive agriculture and greater use of fertilizers and pesti- cides. This has resulted in polluted water and land and the destruction of some impor- tant ecosystems. The impact of the intensification of agriculture on the landscape can be included among the other changes in the environment having been speeded up by the prices policy of the CAP. The abandonment of land use for agricultural purposes, mainly for economic reasons, also exerts pressure on the landscape and biodiversity. The Union’s environmental strategy under the CAP is based on targeted agri-environmen- tal measures which, particularly in rural areas, go beyond sound agricultural practice and environmental legislation. These measures form an integral part of the rural devel- opment programs.
Commission Communication of 28 May 2002 set out a Community Action Plan to integrate environmental protection requirements into the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) (COM(2002) 186 final) and was part of the reform of the common fisheries policy and proposed specific integration measures. The CFP heavily contributed to environmental objectives without prejudice to its economic and social objectives. It is based on the principles of precaution, prevention, rectification at source and polluter pays, and aims at progressively implementing an ecosystem-based approach, to the extent permitted by scientific knowledge. Integrating environmental protection requirements into the CFP must give priority to reducing the pressure on resources, improving fishing methods and abolishing state aid for the modernization and renewal